The Casino Beneath the Cathedral

I sat in a cafe on Tower Street, sipping my drink while talking with Drake.

The elf had come running the moment he received my message, and now he let out a dry laugh.

“So. How about it? Can’t you write me just one?”

“You’re awfully bold. Anyone listening would think I owed you a favor.”

“Don’t you? Honestly, I even gave you a discount. I should at least get some extra payment.”

“Good grief.”

Even so, Drake seemed relieved. “Still, I’m glad it doesn’t sound like a serious problem. When I saw the message, I nearly had a heart attack.”

“What was wrong with the message? I wrote it straight to the point.”

Looking at it now, it did sound a little like a threat. Still, I figured I needed to stir up at least this much aggro to get his lazy ass moving.

“So? Can’t you get me just one?”

When I asked Drake for a letter of recommendation again, he gave me a bitter smile.

“Well… writing one recommendation letter isn’t difficult.”

“Oh, really?”

“However, my recommendation probably won’t be much help. As you know, I’m from the Red Magic Tower.”

“Don’t they accept recommendations from other towers? It’s still a magic tower, right?”

“Normally they would, but the situation with the Red Tower is a bit special.”

“Special?”

Was it more than just the Red Tower having a narrow foothold inside the Magic Tower Guild?

When I tilted my head, Drake sighed and quietly explained the circumstances.

“It’s simple. Lately the Red Tower hasn’t produced any proper results, so our revenue has dropped. Therefore…”

“You’ve become beggars and are selling off all your worldly possessions?”

“…It hasn’t gone quite that far yet. But it’s true we’re struggling to secure funds. That’s why a few tower members started selling recommendation letters for money.”

“Ah. So that’s why it got banned…”

“Exactly. The other towers no longer accept recommendations from the Red Tower.”

“Oh dear.”

I had hoped to make good use of my wizard friend, but it turned out to be useless.

“Well… then there’s nothing we can do. Should I at least buy you a meal?”

“I’m not poor enough to mooch food off an unaffiliated hunter.”

Was he serious?

There were lies in this world that didn’t need to be dug into, so I didn’t press any further. As I was thinking that, Drake spoke up cautiously.

“How is Asha doing these days?”

“Huh? Asha?”

Why was he suddenly bringing up Asha?

The unexpected topic caught me off guard.

“I haven’t seen her once since then. Why mention Asha all of a sudden?”

“I see. If that’s the case, never mind. It’s probably better that there’s no news.”

“What? Are you worried about her?”

This was the complete opposite of when he had asked me to make sure she failed. When I showed my confusion, Drake muttered bitterly.

“Completely contradictory emotions can coexist. It’s the first lesson you learn in the Red Tower.”

“Well, I suppose that’s true.”

“…In the Red Tower, that child was both the source of fear and an object of pity. Saying this now probably just makes me a hypocrite.”

After muttering that, Drake quietly expressed his gratitude to me.

“I’m truly thankful to you for helping that child leave the tower.”

“What’s with you all of a sudden?”

“I’m simply stating a fact.”

Even if it was a fact, hearing a guy say thank you didn’t make me happy at all. If people started calling it bromance, I’d only get flamed on the message boards.

“Anyway, does that mean there’s no way to get a recommendation letter?”

“Well, there is the standard method of diligently completing the tower’s quests to earn one.”

“That’s…”

“Right. It’s a method where you have no idea how long it will take.”

“Sigh. So I have to give up on magic?”

Rather than endlessly grinding tower quests for a recommendation, it seemed better to look for another way. As I was thinking that, Drake opened his mouth again.

“…There is one method.”

“Really?”

“Yes. However, it’s not something I can say openly.”

Not something he could say openly?

Was it related to back-alley crime or something? When I looked at him suspiciously, Drake quietly sent me a message.

“Ca…”

A casino?

At the completely unexpected answer, I looked bewildered. Drake continued explaining about the casino.

“Okay. I understand.”

“…Don’t tell anyone else. And don’t say I told you.”

“Of course.”

“Then I’ll be going.”

I waved Drake off back to the tower and carefully mulled over the information I had gotten from him.

A newly opened casino on Demon King's Street. So if I became a VIP there, I could get a recommendation from the Blue Magic Tower?

I immediately used Future Sight to search for casino-related keywords. Thanks to my continuously growing ability, doing searches like this no longer burdened me much.

“Hmm…”

While scanning the results from Future Sight, one post caught my eye.

“…The cathedral basement?”

The news that there was a casino in the basement of a cathedral. And that cathedral was located on Demon King's Street.

No matter how I thought about it, Drake’s information came to mind. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to go check it out?

With that decided, my next destination was set. I immediately left Tower Street and headed for Demon King's Street.

“How much to Demon King's Street?”

“Five million credits, sir.”

It didn’t take long to reach Demon King's Street. I simply used the teleport hub prepared on Tower Street. Thanks to the partnership between Demon King's Street and Tower Street, I could travel instantly just by paying. Sure, it was ten times the price of public transportation, but convenience was convenience.

“This place has a completely different vibe.”

Unlike Tower Street which was packed with towers, Demon King's Street was filled with castles.

“Demon King's Street… Not a street ruled by a Demon King, but a street where Demon Kings gather…”

Fitting the description of a place where Demon Kings gathered, Demon King's Street was just as flashy as Night Street. It was similar to Tower Street in its fantasy style, but the noise coming from the streets was completely different.

“In this Remegeton general election, please cast your vote for our Lord Belial!”

“The choice that brings happiness to fruition? It’s definitely Murmur!”

“Murmur! Murmur! Murmur!”

The noise filling Demon King's Street was entirely the kind you’d hear during election season. While I was surprised by the rather unique atmosphere, a Future Sight window appeared before my eyes.

“…I see.”

So it was a desperate struggle to win a popularity contest called Remegeton? Hearing that they were working hard to win a popularity vote somehow made it feel familiar. Still, the campaign noise was definitely loud. Amid the rather peculiar street noise, I searched for the cathedral.

Just like when I searched for directions back on Mist Street, the map appeared instantly when I searched with Future Sight.

“…It’s marked as a casino, not a cathedral. I should’ve looked for this first.”

Fortunately, the terrain of Demon King's Street didn’t seem to have changed much from the future. I immediately stepped into the winding alleyways.

“From here… I take a right?”

Following the map roughly toward the casino, I came across a cleanly decorated church that contrasted with the shabby alley. However, despite its clean exterior, there was no sound of hymns or any presence inside the church. It looked like I had come to the right place.

When I carefully entered the church, an old nun with a sinister expression greeted me.

“Have you come to offer prayers?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“If it is prayer, what kind of prayer have you come to offer?”

“Um…”

The nun’s words sounded like some kind of code, so I thought for a moment. Then I suddenly remembered a comment I had seen on the message board about testing one’s fortune with money.

“I’d like to offer a prayer for good fortune with money.”

“Ah. I see. Then please follow me this way.”

Did I answer correctly?

The nun led me deep into the church. Before long, she opened a door leading to the basement.

“Here. Please enjoy your prayers.”

Carefully following the nun’s guidance down to the church basement, a secret space appeared just as I had expected.

“Welcome to the prayer room. Is this your first time using our prayer room?”

“Yes, it’s my first time.”

“Ah. Then let’s start with member registration. That way our prayer room can match you with an appropriate opponent according to your skill level.”

“…An appropriate opponent?”

Did a casino need to match opponents? Didn’t the dealer usually play against you? When I tilted my head in confusion, the casino guide smiled and briefly explained the rules.

“There are rooms for those who wish to pray alone, but joint prayer is the specialty of our prayer room.”

“Joint prayer…”

“Isn’t it more fun when there’s a bit of competition rather than simple prayer?”

I see. So they had raised the fun of gambling through a matching system.

“Yes. Then I’ll sign up.”

“Please sign here on this document.”

When I signed the document the guide handed me, a message appeared on the air screen.

“Um. Can I use it right away now?”

“New members can only use 1:1 matching, so please understand.”

“Understood.”

I nodded politely and followed the guide into a small room. The moment I entered the room that reminded me of a confessional, blue magic unfolded and the surrounding scenery changed. Was this some kind of illusion magic?

“Then, let us begin the prayer. What game would you like?”

“Um…”

While I was marveling at the illusion magic, something that looked like a dealer suddenly appeared and spoke to me. After thinking for a moment, I answered casually.

“Poker.”

“Poker. Confirmed.”

I had said “poker” in a serious tone, but in truth I only knew the basic rules. I had never been connected to gambling in my life. The reason I chose poker was because I had no intention of winning money in the first place.

In a gambling den, the one who becomes a VIP isn’t the person who wins money. It’s the sucker who loses a ton of money.

The 700 million credits I currently had. Even if I had to spend every last bit of it, I planned to become a VIP and obtain the recommendation letter. I believed Blue Tower magic was worth investing my entire fortune.

“Ah. You have been matched. Then, may ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠your prayer be enjoyable.”

Along with the notification that matching was complete, the dealer disappeared and my opponent appeared before me.

“Hello~”

“…Whoa.”

“What? What kind of reaction is that after seeing someone’s face?”

Well, how could I not react like that? A white bunny girl with blue hair had suddenly popped out. Any guy would have the same reaction.

“No, it’s my first round so I was a bit surprised.”

“What? Are you a newbie? How cute.”

Watching the grinning bunny girl, I cheered inwardly. Seeing her so relaxed, it was obvious she was ready to suck me dry of money.

Plus she was even dressed as a bunny girl. It was clearly the mark of a veteran. If I just got worked by this bunny girl and lost all my money, I would achieve my goal.

“Alright. Let’s start quickly! I’ll teach you well. Hehe.”

“Please go easy on me.”

And so the game began.

Pretending to be a newbie who didn’t know the game well, I discarded every good hand I received and deliberately kept only the bad ones. As the game progressed, the all-too-obvious conclusion was—

“…Huh?”

This was a strange ending. Wait, a royal straight flush? Why did that come out?

I had clearly discarded every hand that looked good. No, wasn’t this something that was hard to make even if you tried on purpose?

While I stared blankly at the unbelievable result, the bunny girl suddenly shot up from her seat. The relaxed smile from earlier was gone, and her face had turned bright red. She alternated between looking at my royal straight flush and her own four of a kind in disbelief, then growled menacingly.

“Hey.”

“Y-yes?”

“One more round. You son of a bitch.”